September 11 forever has a pronounced meaning for all Americans. It sounds selfish perhaps, but, I am glad that it did not fall on my birthday or my son's. Only a day separates it from my birthday, and two for my son, but still, I am grateful for that.

The day is one that most of us will remember with great clarity, horror and sadness, just as we recall other significant events during our lifetimes. I have lived long enough to remember the first walk on the moon, the day JFK died, the day Princess Diana died and several other tragic and/or significant... more

We've grown into a community here at the adoption.com blogs and I am enjoying getting to know so many of you from your posts. However, lately I have missed some of my other on-line blogging friends. There has not been enough time to read my other favorite blogs.

A solution has come to mind! Each week I am going to feature one or two favorite bloggers and share them with you here. Some I will post from this blog, others from my FirstParent blog. The photo above will indicate a feature about blogger that I have bookmarked and/or or particularly enjoy. ... more

As I mentioned in part 4 of my saga about the regional AAC conference that I attended recently, one of the keynote speakers was 22 year-old Adam McDermott. His talk was poignant and moving for many reasons. First, he spoke of what "growing up adopted" meant to him. Adam's been blessed with a good life and he appears to be a stable, well-adjusted young man. Yet, I winced when he spoke of being grateful to his birth mom for not "cutting me short".

I thought it was an interesting way to phrase his gratefulness to his birth mother for relinquishing... more

Now...to the stories of people I met at the conference. In one day's time, I was able to cram in alot of chatter with others. Although the conference was in Portland, several of my Southern California birth mom and adoptee friends were in attendance. It is always comforting to see a few familiar faces in a sea of new people to meet.

One of my favorite adoptee friends was at the conference with his sister who lives in the Portland area. He had spoken about her before, but, we had never met. J. is a birth mom and an adoptee, and is on the... more

I learned so much at the conference and heard so many interesting stories, that it will a few blogs more to share portions of the conference with you. Okay, back to my first chat ever with an adoption attorney. If you are an adoptive parent, talking to an attorney that handles adoptions may not be a particularly significant event.

However, for a birth mom like me, it was an atypical experience. When we first began chatting, she asked me "what I did", and I mentioned some of my projects. Next,I asked her what her connection was to adoption.... more

Before I talk about that brief exchange with the adoption attorney at the conference, I will share some of what I learned (or had reinforced)about searching at the conference;

1) "You can run, but you cannot hide". Marilyn Waugh, a talented searcher who presented two of the sessions that I attended, made this comment that at the beginning of one of her presentations. She stressed that the majority of people leave paper trails. "Even without a name," she said, "you can generally find someone."

2) She spoke about using Confidential... more

Last Saturday, I spent the day immersed in adoption at the AAC conference. The conference was entitled "Creating the Empowered Reunion". Workshops were available on a variety of search and reunion topics, however, I concentrated on the search discussions.

It was a full day. By the end of the day, my mind was swirling after hearing all the various adoption stories and talking to a wide variety of triad members and adoption professionals. Adoption conferences are an excellent way to learn, and have a chance to meet people with both similar... more

Part 1 and Part 2. Continuing with the friendly adoptive dad's story....Two of his children were under two years of age when they were adopted, he told me. His oldest son was adopted at age 12. He shared with me how much the son that they adopted at age 12 had matured and become a healthy, happy child. This dad touched me on so many levels as he... more

On Saturday, I went to sit for a short time with a adoptee who had an exhibit table at a local adoption conference. The conference was sponsored by the North American Counsel for Adoptable Children. Her table had literature, etc. for the American Adoption Congress whose stated mission is:

The American Adoption Congress comprises individuals, families and organizations committed to adoption reform. We represent those whose lives are touched by adoption or other loss of family continuity.

We promote honesty, openness and... more

Since I was not at the conference long, I did not have much of a chance to mingle and talk to people. However, a large black man enthusiastically shared his story with me and told me all about his family. He proudly showed me a picture taken at the convention with his wife and three of their five children, all of whom were adopted. His three stunningly beautiful daughters were black, as he was, but, his wife was white.

This man was clearly like many of the adoptive parent bloggers at adoptionblogs.com who had large, loving and happy families.... more